Your point still doesn't stand. Remember the definition of an API? If it can be replaced by a pure static function, it is not an API. Of course a static function should be used if it is rightfully static, but this is offtopic. We're talking about API, not static methods that have nothing to do with API. Read your initial post: a static function to return the plugin instance ($this). This is wrong in the first place, so any discussion from that point is invalid. And what is the significance of this? Read your original discussion again. Does renaming a method help anything regarding the case you were discussing about?